Rose gasped and moved away, but he was persistent. "Rose, please just come sit down."
"No," she screamed. "I don't want to sit down. And I certainly don't want to sit down with you!"
Cal took Rose's hands and pulled her up. Rose started to panic; the last time Cal made a surprise visit, he hurt Jack. To Rose's surprise, he pulled her up and held her close to himself in a hug. Rose started to slowly hysterically cry.
"Rose, what happened?" Cal asked. He slowly led her over to sit down.
Rose ran her fingers through her hair nervously. "We-we were just in the house, and Jack collapsed. He collapsed and I don't know why."
"Rose, I'm so sorry," said Cal.
"He's twenty seven. He's been the picture of health. I just don't understand, and I couldn't even answer the doctor's questions." Rose put her head in her hands. "I'm sorry, why are you here?"
"Well, my wife, Sarah, and I were traveling. She went into labor, and there were complications," said Cal. Rose could see the pain in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Cal," said Rose. "Is this your first child?"
"Yes," said Cal. "We tried for a while, and it finally happened. Do you have kids?"
"Yes, we have three," said Rose, still looking at the floor.
"Wow, you didn't waste time," said Cal with a laugh.
"Well, Josie's five, and we just had twins last week," said Rose.
"Oh, congratulations," said Cal with a smile.
"No, not congratulations," said Rose. "I can't do this by myself. I can't raise three kids without him. I can't do anything without him. I can't, I can't, I can't."
"You're not going to have to," said Cal. "Dawson survived poverty, a sinking, and me and Lovejoy. He's not going to die today."
"Neither is Sarah," said Rose, with a slight smile.
A doctor walked over to them. "Mr. Hockley," said the doctor, "your wife and baby are both fine. They're both unconscious, but you can see them if you'd like."
Cal smiled and looked at Rose. "That's okay, I'm needed here. Just, come back if she wakes up, alright?"
Rose turned to him. "Cal, you don't have to-"
"Yes I do," said Cal. "It's the least I can do, after the way I treated you. I'm sorry about that, by the way. I'm so sorry."
"That's okay," said Rose. "You saved me today. I really would have gone out of my mind if you hadn't been in here, keeping me sane. Besides, it's not like I didn't hurt you back."
"Well, how about now we call it even?" Cal said.
Rose smiled. "Sounds good. Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," said Cal.
"Have you been on a ship since… you know…" Rose trailed off.
"Yes," said Cal. "I went with Sarah. It was over the summer so there were no icebergs."
"And?" Rose asked.
"And I was terrified the whole time. Haven't done it since."
"I haven't even tried," said Rose. "I guess, we have so much more to lose now than we did then, and even then we thought we had lost everything."
"So, what? Does Titanic just hang over our heads forever?" Cal asked.
"I don't think so," said Rose. "I think it'll always be with us in some way, but it's not always going to hang over our heads."
"I guess you're right," said Cal.
"Question," said Rose. "How much does Sarah know about what happened on Titanic?"
"Everything," said Cal. "She knows about how awful I was, and how you ran away."
Suddenly, another doctor appeared. "Mrs. Dawson, you're husband is stable. You can come see him."
Rose looked at Cal. "We should both go check on our spouses."
"I agree," said Cal. He reached out his hand. "It was a pleasure to see you again, Rose. Well, under the circumstances, that is."
"Thank you for everything, Cal. I mean it." They shook hands and went their separate ways.
Rose rushed into Jack's room. She took his hand in hers, and stroked his hair. Finally, after what felt like hours, Jack slowly opened his eyes. "Hey, sweetheart," said Jack groggily.
Rose cried. "Hey yourself." She kissed his cheek and then put his hand against her forehead and cried.
"I'm so sorry," said Jack, still half unconscious. "This stress isn't good for you. You just had the twins last week."
"I don't really care about my stress, I care about you," said Rose. She sighed. "I was so scared, Jack."
"I'm alright. I promise." Jack looked toward the door, where a doctor was coming in to talk to them.
"Mr. Dawson, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked.
"Better," said Jack, sleepily.
"What happened? Why did he collapse?" Rose asked.
"He has broken-heart syndrome," said the doctor, and he turned to Jack. "Your body mimics the symptoms of a heart attack, but you're fine. I guarantee it. You'll just have to take medication to prevent this from happening again, and I want to keep you here tonight for observation."
"What caused this? Did I have this condition my whole life?" Jack asked.
"You've probably had this your whole life, it just presented itself now. But like I said, if you take your medications responsibly, it shouldn't happen again."
"Thank you so much, doctor," said Rose. She smiled at Jack.
Jack frowned and took Rose's hand. "I'm so sorry, Rose. You must have been so scared, in the waiting room, all alone."
"Well, I wasn't exactly alone," said Rose. "I was in the waiting room, and Cal was there."
"Are you serious? What did that bastard do?" Jack demanded.
"Jack, please stay calm. I can't have you having another attack again," said Rose, and Jack calmed down. "He didn't do anything. He talked to me, kept me calm, and convinced me you'd be okay."
"Oh," said Jack. "I'm so sorry, Rose."
"Just please stop apologizing," said Rose. "I just need you to take care of yourself. I can't do this without you. I can't live without you."
"You don't have to, Rose," said Jack, taking her hand. "Not if I have anything to say about it."
"I love you," said Rose quietly. "And I'm so glad you're okay."
"I love you too, and I'm fine," said Jack. He stopped for a second. "Who's with the kids?"
"Emma and Ben are with them," said Rose.
"Does Josie know?" Jack asked.
"She wasn't downstairs when it happened," said Rose. "She missed the entire thing. So when I left with you, I told Emma just to tell her that you weren't feeling well and I took you to the doctor."
"Smart," said Jack. "What are you going to say when you get home?"
"I don't know," said Rose. "But I'm not ready to leave just yet."
Jack moved over in the bed and motioned for Rose to come over. Rose climbed onto the bed next to him and put her head on his chest. Jack put his arm around Rose and pulled her close. "I love you, Rose," he said.
"I love you too," said Rose.
Rose went straight home, where Ben and Emma were both sitting with Josie. "Mommy!" Josie said excitedly, and she went to hug her mother. "How's Daddy?"
"Daddy's totally fine. The doctor wanted to keep him overnight, just to be safe."
"Good," said Josie. "Can I come with you to pick him up tomorrow? I was just so worried about him."
Rose sighed. "Sure you can, sweetheart."
A/N: Hey hey! Hope you enjoy this chapter. I think I have a weakness of making all of the characters good in the end (Ruth, Cal), and I'm not sure if I know how to write a villain character. So, I'm toying with that now.
Also, I'm writing a new story, so look out for that, too!
